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Confronting My Mortality

The story of this collaboration between Lynda and me:

At 8 a.m. on November 10, 2021, my wife Lynda approached the San Ysidro Cemetary and opened the gate.   I was nearby, taking photos of the adjacent "Corrales Old Church".   Upon seeing her shadow projected into the cemetery, Lynda was shocked, and her eyes filled with tears. But by the time I was able to come see the phenomenon, the sun had moved from the ultimate spot.   So we made the determination to come back the next morning and capture Lynda and her shadow at the optimum moment.   From that raw photo I did some reconstruction of the upper half, to make the grave markers more prominent, and I added the trees and the subtle dark clouds.  I also shuffled the existing crosses for better composition, while trying to preserve the original randomness.   Lynda felt strongly that the graves should go on and on, without end, and so we did not place any ridges or mountains in the background.    In other words, it is as if the graveyard is at the final edge of the earth.

Lynda's thoughts, while looking at her shadow both mornings, centered around one concept - "mortality".   Accordingly, we struggled in naming this piece before ultimately settling on the name shown above.